Bollywood filmmaker-turned-actor Farhan Akhtar’s upcoming film ‘Toofaan’ is is scheduled to release on Amazon Prime Video on July 16.
The film promises a cinematic storm with its high on adrenaline boxing sequences.
Akhtar underwent intense training to prep for the role of Aziz Ali aka Ajju Bhai, a goon who goes on to become a national level boxer, for his second film with director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, following another sports-based movie, ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’ in 2013.
The film also stars ‘Super 30’ actor Mrunal Thakur, who plays Dr Ananya and Aziz's love interest, and veteran actor Paresh Rawal as Nana Prabhu, his boxing coach.
Ahead of its release, the hashtag #BoycottToofan has been trending on Twitter as a section of netizens accused the makers of promoting ‘Love Jihad’.
Check out the reactions below.
While the posts shared on Twitter and the film’s Wikipedia page show Mrunal’s character named as Dr Pooja Shah, the makers have maintained that her name is Dr Ananya. Not to mention, the film also has a song titled "Ananya".
Akhtar told PTI that the "driving force" of 'Toofaan' is the incredible journey that Aziz, Ananya and Nana Prabhu are on.
"There's a lot that happens. The sport is really the backdrop... it's very exciting, of course, it's cinematic, there's adrenaline, all that stuff. But the heart of the film lies in the relationships between these characters," the 47-year-old actor added.
‘Toofaan’ has been produced by Akhtar and his work partner Ritesh Sidhwani of Excel Entertainment and Mehra's ROMP Pictures.
Written by Anjum Rajabali and Vijay Maurya, ‘Toofaan’ also features Supriya Pathak Kapur and Hussain Dalal.
